Il Bosco Ristorante and Bar

Great Italian food in a small welcoming environment. The gnocchi was the best I’ve ever had, we’ll definitely be going back to try the rest of the menu!

This is my favorite Italian restaurant. This is not a «meatball and lasagna place». The food is absolutely wonderful with special attention to detail. The atmosphere is intimate and quiet. The menu changes seasonally so you will always find new things to try.

This is a favorite place of mine when I visit North Carolina, the staff is friendly and the ambience is relaxing and the food is wonderful. A great date night or even family night out. My daughters enjoyed it and that is all worth it for me.

I make it a point to go to Il Bosco every time I am in North Carolina as I have never been disappointed, regardless of what I have tried there. Besides the excellent food, the ambiance makes it a perfect place for date night though they can accommodate larger groups as well! I just wished I lived closer. Though I would drive a fair distance to eat here, Arizona is a bit far. :)

Great food and service here. My favorite thing was the gnocchi. The veal was very good as well.
And I like the perceived snobbiness here. Why should a place with a higher standard be punished? I mean if you drove all the way to Davidson, you shouldn’t have to be bothered to dress properly should you?

Consistently fabulous and creative. You absolutely cannot go wrong here with a chef that is always in perfect form. We have been here many many times and have never had anything but a delightful experience and a delicious meal. And to top it all, it is quiet enough to have an intimate conversation.

This is the best lunch spot in town, even with the newer (and pricier) additions. Sandwiches and lunch-​sized pasta dishes are excellent (I have eaten many). I have eaten here more than a dozen times and never experienced poor service. On the contrary the family– run operation has tons of regulars. Gnocchi are absolutely delicious, as is the pesto chicken sandwich and the parsnip fries. Yum. I do wish their lunch salads were more of an entrée size.

My husband and I dined here yesterday for our anniversary dinner. We did make a reservation but it was not busy at all. I didnt experience any of the rude behavior or snobbyness that was in some of the other reviews. The owner was very friendly and helpful and our waitress was very nice. The food was fantastic. Some of the best authentic Italian food I have had, outside of my grandmothers kitchen. We started with the antipasto with salami, prosciutto, artichokes and pecorino. Delicious. Next was the tomato and red pepper with basil, also very good. My husband had the tagliatelle pasta with shrimp and scallops. he really liked it and said the seafood was very fresh. I had the braised venison with polenta. This was amazing. The meat was very tender. We finished with an assortment of the Italian cookies, which were very good as well. We will absolutely be back again. My only complaint was the sound in the dining room. The music was very low and it was so quiet, you had to whisper or everyone could hear your conversation and you could hear everyone elses. I think next time we would just sit outside.

Loved the food and wine selection, but could have passed on the attitudes and snobeness. Excuse me if I didn’t make a reservation, we decided last moment and arrived before 6 on a friday evening, so it didn’t seem necessary anyway. It seemed like we were inconveniencing them more then anything. It was my birthday dinner and was hoping for a nice relaxing dinner with my family, but instead I felt like I was being treated like a second class citizen. They need lessons on customer service. Maybe the whole staff should take a field trip to Caruso’s in Mooresville, they just may learn something about people skills and making the customer feel special!

My husband and I had our Anniversary dinner here recently and it was a wonderful dining experience. We promised ourselves that we will treat ourselves to this amazing Italian food more often. The best Italian in the South.

The food is great, and I love their option for half-​size entrees. I’ve been there four or five times now, but the most recent visit consisted of really poor service, and previous visits have never exceeded expectations (or even met them) in terms of service.
My husband and I arrived without reservations on a Monday or Tuesday to a mostly-​empty dining room, and were treated very poorly. We were told first by an abrupt server that there would be a wait, which we agreed with, and sat at the bar. Three people came into the bar to pour a drink, print a check or enter an order and not one greeted us, offered a drink menu or a drink.
The owner eventually came over, reminded us there would be a 15 – 20 minute wait, and asked us if we would be staying. We told him we would stay (at this point felt we were unwanted dinner guests). I also asked for a wine list. He handed it to me and left.
Several minutes later, I flagged down a server and ordered my wine. My husband was upset and wanted to leave at this point, but it was my birthday and I wanted pasta so we stayed… after that, the meal was good (as I said, the food is great).
If they could make guests feel special or improve their communication, I would come there all the time. Even just letting people know that their chef can only handle X tables at a time would be great. (actually, they should just have a smaller restaurant).
Since then, I’ve suggested we go there a couple of times (I’m a pasta fan) and my husband always turns it down in favor of another restaurant in the area because he doesn’t want to support the owner who would treat guests in that manner.

We have been wanting to try this little place, so we made a reservation for dinner tonight. The atmosphere was nice, though we could hear all of the conversations around us … a little music would have muffled. The food was average, maybe just above. We are just returning from a 2 year stint in Boston, so I guess our expectation is a little high. Service was slower than it should have been. We ordered the caprese salad and they left off the basal — still charged $ 9 for it. I had the veal piazza and my wife had the chicken dish — both were ok, nothing I’ll remember. All in all, a little disappointing. Salad, one glass of wine, two entrees and a veggie and we walked out for $ 85 —

My husband and I were referred to Il Bosco by a local shop owner. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it there until our last night in the area. Everything was delicious. I had a small salad, which was fine. My husband ordered a special salad with gorgonzola, artichokes, and pork, and it was delicious. He also ordered a chicken dish made with mushrooms, rosemary, pork cheeks, and it was light, delicious, and perfectly sauced.
Our only complaint was that we didn’t get a chance to try Il Bosco for lunch.

Overall atmosphere = Small and cozy
Party Size = 6 people
Overall view of the restaurant = 4 of us won’t be back. The other 2 are not sure if they will be back.
Service = Terrible
1) My sister in law told the waitress «Yes we are ready to order» when asked if we were ready and then the waitress turned around and addressed the table next to us.
2) Same sister in law tried twice to flag the waitress down (it is a small place so I’m not sure why this was an issue) and said waitress ignored her.
3) My brother in law at one point walked around the table and filled three glasses of wine for us.
4) Water was handled by the owner (?), a nice gentleman who said he was Italian American. He did a good job.
Wine = Best part of the meal. Whatever we ordered was a white wine and really good.
Food = Mixed reviews.
Calamari — Not bad. It didn’t seem like there was much calamari as compared to the fried veggies on the plate.
Mussels = Not bad. Not the best, but edible.
Salad = I had something with bacon in it. Good salad, but I found the dressing in too plentiful a quantity and very bland.
Lamb Chops were raw and inedible. Spice combination is slightly bland and not tasty at all. My husband is too nice of a guy to send them back. He cut them up and then they just sat there while he ate part of other peoples meals.
Fettucine with Meat Sauce = Good. Not the normal meat sauce I am used to (i.e. there were carrots in it), but I’d order again if I had to come here.
Roasted Chicken = The person who ordered this raved about it.
Chicken with white stuff (speck?) = 3 people ordered this and all of them cleaned their plates.
No dessert was ordered because, frankly, we just wanted to get out of the place.

This place is fairly hidden off a side street in Davidson. At first when I heard it was Italian I immediately thought this place is going to be way too heavy for lunch. But I gave the place a try and I am happy I did! Not only do they have delicious paninis but they have great salads and of course pasta dishes too. I have eaten here twice and both time I have loved what I got. I highly recommend this place for lunch!

Cozy restaurant with nice ambiance Menu was typical for an upscale Italian establishment serving regional dishes and overall our initial impression were very favorable. Our waiter at first seemed very attentive and knowledgeable; however, it turned out to be a guise for a very condescending demeanor. My wife asked if the chef could hold the olives on her swordfish and he became very dismissive. Our friends ordered the gnocchi with bolognese sauce. When he asked how the dinner was I stated that although the gnocchi was good, the sauce had no meat! He ied to lecture me that it had thick beef sauce, to which we differed. He was even clueless that most bolognese has veal, beef and pork.
My soft shell crabs were excellent Wifes swordfish was fair; gnocchi good, but sauce poor. In general, food overpriced and small portioned.

Il Bosco is the go-​to restaurant in Davidson for business dinners, romantic dates for the young and old, and for a damn classy evening with your mom. I’ve had mixed experiences with the salads, but the more traditional Italian pastas (homemade) are always very good. The service is eager to please and courteous. Make a reservation if you’re coming on the weekend so you can secure a spot amongst the loads of regular locals.

This is a wonderful little Italian spot near the Davidson campus, very convenient for a quick lunch. Service was very good, salad greens fresh though I was not a fan of their vinegarette but everything else hit the spot. Lunch specials of classic Italian fare were all very good. This is a delightful restaurant which we would like to come back and try for dinner.

Finally got a chance to try Il Bosco on our last date night and we really enjoyed ourselves. It is elegant dining and we had a top notch server who was very accommodating with my wife’s dairy/​egg sensitivity. Our waiter asked the chef which dishes she could have and he tried his best to help her without sacrificing the taste of his dishes (she had wanted a salad sans goat cheese, but the chef refused to serve it that way, haha! I think his being so demanding and specific speaks to the quality of the food there)
The Bruschetta was amazing, the bread was warm and fresh, and the Porterhouse for 2 was excellent (albeit pretty darn expensive). Nice place for a special occasion and we found out they serve pastries for breakfast during the week!

This place didn’t want business. When we got there they told us «if» we ate there we would have to sit at the front of the restaurant. The place is not that big and the back half had a table of 12 and 2 four top tables. Sitting up front wasn’t a problem, but the attitude of the hostess was. We said it would be fine to sit up front. She then said she would have to check with the manager. He came over and said it would be a hour wait for them to cook the food. Not a hour wait for the table, a hour wait after we ordered. When I looked at him he said he had the large party (of 12) that was going to back the kitchen up.
So we went down the street to Campania and had a great meal.